Aviation Xtended Case Study

Xtended is an internet radio programme covering aviation, aircraft and space exploration. Produced in the founder’s home in Melcombe Bingham, the show is run by industry experts and features guest interviews from all over the world. The producers needed to transfer large media files over the internet and conduct interviews over Skype, but with speeds of less than 0.5Mb/s they were struggling.

The Problem

The radio show is produced in the founder’s home, in the village of Melcombe Bingham, which is very rural and the maximum distance from any BT exchange. High-speed internet access is not expected to arrive there even with the rural roll out project from BT Openreach. Therefore the line quality was poor and they had been receiving speeds of less than 0.5Mb/s. Presenter & Producer, Pieter Johnson explains, “Producing a radio programme is a media rich activity and therefore a data and bandwidth rich environment to work in. This was a real challenge for us as we record interviews with our guests over Skype and other audio channels. Drop-out and loss of calls were frequent and embarrassing for us, as well as our guests who call into the programme from all over the world. We have featured astronauts, famous authors, test pilots, airline pilots, fighter pilots and industry leaders. They regularly mix in the mainstream media and expect certain standards of quality.”

Xtended regularly have to transfer large media files containing both audio and visual content, so bandwidth requirements were demanding. The programme had been gaining success with an international audience and was receiving positive feedback from both industry and listener perspectives. However this growth brought with it pressure to increase their content and capabilities, but this proved impossible with such poor internet service. To continue producing the programme, they were considering either moving house or facilitating the programme externally from an urban location where fast internet speeds would be available.

Our Solution

Pieter signed up to our popular Residential Family Package, which offers 120GB data per month, with speeds of up to 30Mb/s. Within days of registering his interest online, the Wessex Internet team were at his home carrying out the installation. Pieter was very impressed and explains, “The installation crew were a refreshing experience after our previous installation by a more traditional provider. They were polite and extremely helpful and Wessex Internet continue to set the standard for a great customer experience.”

The Result

Wessex Internet’s superfast speeds have allowed Xtended Aviation to sustain and grow both their programme and its audience. With speeds over 50 times faster than they were previously receiving, now they are able to download, upload and transfer everything they require, with room for even further growth in future. They no longer have to consider moving premises, and are able to produce the show without the hindrances and problems they were experiencing before.

Mr Johnson continues, “Our household uses several tablets, laptops and smart phones, often at the same time and since moving to Wessex Internet we have never been held up by slow download speeds. The radio programme is going from strength to strength and we are delighted by our internet service. In fact it is now no longer something we worry about at all, which is the way a good service should be. We are now in the UK finals for Best Programme of the Year and this would simply have been unachievable with the quality and performance before using Wessex. Many businesses in urban areas are jealous of our service.”